Two new sister restaurants for Terroirs

Published: 10 October, 2011

The team behind Terroirs will open another two venues by next March, and is considering expanding the concept overseas.

The openings will bring the estate up to four wine bar/restaurants. The third restaurant, Soif, is set to open on Battersea Rise by the start of November, while the fourth, a larger site in St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, is scheduled to open its doors in March 2012.

Les Caves de Pyrene are partners in the restaurant venture and supply 90% of the wines.

Doug Wregg, sales and marketing director at Les Caves de Pyrene, told Harpers that the firm is "flirting with the idea" of opening sites abroad, specifically Melbourne, Australia, as well as in Spain. "It's almost cheaper to do it in other countries, but you lack control. There's a great natural wine culture in Melbourne, and people have approached us about it." But he said overseas expansion was part of the longer-term plan.

As for UK growth, he said: "We're not ramping up into a chain. Each site will open when it's good and ready." He added that the Battersea Rise site is "quite simple", with space for 60 covers. "There are a lot of restaurants and bistros, but mostly chains, and it's a good wine ghetto, with lots of people from the trade living there."

The larger site at St Martin's Lane will have a Loire theme, complete with food and wine from the French region, as well as decor from artists from the area. He said the site still needs more planning, but that work would begin in December. The group is also considering opening an Italian-themed restaurant, but this would depend on finding a large site.

Terroirs, in Trafalgar Square, opened in 2008, followed by Brawn, in Columbia Road, in November 2010.